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BBA and for that matter most algae is the result of too much organics being left in the system The more light you have the worse it gets. Are you dosing ferts? If you have nitrates of 40 naturally that is too high and a good indicator of the tank being too "dirty" Nitrates from dosing is a completely different story. The best way to cut it off is to decrease the organic load and increase uptake. So more water changes, more plants and at the same time less feeding (if possible). Now there's a chance you can do all the above leave the lights alone and you'll be fine. Everything is a sorta balancing act into you find the a sweet range where things work. If you able to reduce lighting without it negatively affecting plants then that will only help.
Sounds like you built up enough organics by not removing enough water until a threshold was reached and BBA developed. BBA spores are everywhere, its when conditions turn in there favor that they become algae. Side note, plecos are very dirty fish. They create a ton of waste. Doing small monthly water changes is not going to cut it, unless you have a ton of fast growing plants and without co2 I doubt it.
Sounds like you built up enough organics by not removing enough water until a threshold was reached and BBA developed. BBA spores are everywhere, its when conditions turn in there favor that they become algae. Side note, plecos are very dirty fish. They create a ton of waste. Doing small monthly water changes is not going to cut it, unless you have a ton of fast growing plants and without co2 I doubt it.
